A Bright Future
by aedy
Summary: Maybe he wasn't going to leave for a bigger city, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to be someone.
1. Chapter 1

Puck's line about seeing himself being dead or in prison in 18 years, really broke my heart so I decided I was going to write something where he had a future because he fucking deserves one. I will update weekly and this will end in Puckurt but the main focus is Puck.** **  
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**A Bright Future - Prologue**

Seeing his friends graduate didn't make Puck feel alone, that was an old feeling. Seeing Quinn spend the last months of high school talking about life at Yale made him feel proud and happy and also grateful because if they had kept Beth, if they had gotten married, he would have ruined her life and it was just better that way. She was going to leave and forget about him, and Puck could live with that.

He heard Finn making plans with Rachel and Kurt for New York and felt a little bit of envy that his best friend got to start a bright future with them, but they were all his friends and he was just going to be happy for them.

People didn't even think he was going to graduate so Puck took pride in seeing their faces when he wasn't held back and got to stand on the stage receiving his diploma alongside with them. He had always kept his grades a secret but he had never actually cared about being seen as someone smart.

Maybe he wasn't going to leave for a bigger city, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to be someone. He needed a plan and he spent the last hours of his last day as a high school student trying to come up with one. It was hard when no one actually cared about him to find someone that could help him, but if he set his mind on something, he usually got it, except for Beth and for Quinn's love, but he wanted to stop thinking about that.

High school was barely over when Puck met with his probation officer again. He walked inside the police department with his head hanging low, his gaze fixed on the floor ignoring both cops and criminals. The way to her office was engraved in his memory so he let his feet carry him where he needed to be. He knocked once and waited to hear her voice saying to come in, and then walked inside, closed the door behind him and sat down at one of the chairs without giving her time to ask what he thought he was doing.

"I need help," he said, the words coming out for the first time. After spending so many times asking for help through his actions or waiting for someone to care enough to ask how he was doing, he had finally come to the realization that perhaps he needed to say it out loud and hope that someone would be there to hear him.

The woman sitting behind the desk regarded him with a patronizing look. "Mr. Puckerman, I expected to see you sooner than this."

Puck frowned and leaned forward. "I mean it. I need help."

She arched an eyebrow and Puck still felt as if he was nothing more than scum. It reminded him of Quinn and of his mother and of Kurt and of Finn and he did his best to push away those thoughts.

"What exactly can I do for you? You haven't been arrested." And even though she hadn't said it, the yet rang loudly in the room.

"I don't know who else to ask. I can't go to College but I want to do something. You have to find me something."

The officer clasped her hands over the desk and for the first time actually looked at Puck as if he was someone vaguely human. "You want to do something?" she asked with a challengingly undertone to her voice.

Puck nodded firmly. "I don't care what it is but I..." He trailed off and it took a lot of will to stop his eyes from looking away from hers. "I don't want to end up like my dad and I don't want to end up in prison. I need something that will keep me from making mistakes."

For a few long moments all the officer did was stare at Puck as if she was trying to read his mind or as if she was looking for any ulterior motives he may have. But in the end she gave a nod and her lips curved upwards into a pleased smile. She leaned back against her chair and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Usually, I only ever see someone again because they got arrested a second time. I can't believe that you're actually the first one who comes back to ask for my help."

"But you will do something, right?" And Puck didn't even try to hide his fear or his eagerness. He was sure this was his last chance of being someone different from the jailbird everyone was sure he was.

"I can only think of one thing." She turned her chair around to face the stock of papers on the desk behind her. She moved a few sheets aside and then grabbed something and spun her chair around. She slid a pamphlet across the desk. "What do you say about this?"

Puck picked it up with a furrowed brow and read under his voice, "Become a cop and stop being a criminal." He looked up at the officer and found her smiling satisfied. It only took a moment to Puck to make his choice. "Of all the things I saw myself do in the future, this wasn't one of them."

"Become your worst enemy and you'll be alright. That is if you really want to change," and the challenge was back in her voice.

Puck was a lot of things but a coward wasn't one of them. He looked at her determined and nodded. "Okay."

"Are you sure, Puckerman?"

"Yes."

"Alright." She spun her chair around again and picked up a few sheets of paper. "We better start," she said, turning to face him and handing him over both the papers and a pen. "Welcome on board, kid."


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N**: I looked up Police Academies in Ohio and found one in Lima so I used that one. Also, I found out that the academy's programs are 4 years long and that in order to apply you must be 20 so I changed that a little because Puck is 18. Also, you're supposed to have a spotless past, I changed that too because otherwise Puck wouldn't have been able to join the academy. I can't remember whether Puck's probation officer's name was ever said so I invented one._

_I'm so sorry it took me more than a week to update, but I spent last week with a fever and soar throat and today I finally got around to write this. I promise that the next update will be on time and longer too! Thanks for reading and let me know what you think!_

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><p>Mrs. Weitzman patted Puck on the shoulder when he stopped outside the glass doors of the entrance of the police academy. "It's not going to be easy," she said once again. "I got you in using some favors people owed me at the department but you have to pass the interview on your own and once you do that, your new life will start. You will study for four years and once you're out of here you will be a cop." She chuckled softly as if she was picturing Puck in his future life and couldn't believe it, she honestly wanted to help him but he had to show that he truly wanted to change and grow up.<p>

"That really helped me, thanks," Puck said sarcastically. He clutched in his hands the papers he had to give to the front desk and gulped around the lump forming in his throat.

Mrs. Weitzman pushed him forward, "I better not see you again, Puckerman. I'm putting my ass on the line here to help you."

Puck glanced at her from over his shoulder and took a deep breath. He had talked about it with his mom who had first cried because she was proud and then because what if he got himself killed? Puck had rolled his eyes at her and mumbled something about not even being a real cop before the next four years passed. Sarah, his sister, had hugged him really tight begging him not to leave her alone because she needed her big brother. He had laughed and said that she didn't need to worry because even if the academy accepted his application, the place was still in Lima and they would still see each other every week-end.

Puck turned around again still feeling somehow uncertain on what he was going to do. He ended up pulling his cell phone from the pocket of his jacket, his mind going back to Finn currently in New York with Rachel and Kurt and to Quinn away to Yale. He glared down at it and went to his contact list, his thumb hovering for a moment over the buttons before he pressed, "Delete all contacts". He needed to close that chapter of his life so he could move forward.

Mrs. Weitzman was looking at him with a raised eyebrow and he didn't even waste time trying to explain. He nodded to himself, mumbled a thank you to the woman and then turned around finally walking inside the academy.

The hot hair of July was suffocating outside but the building was cool from the air-conditioning and Puck shivered at the change of temperature. A blond officer was sitting behind the front desk, a bored expression on her face while she looked at the computer in front of her.

Puck walked up to her and cleared his throat. "Good morning, ma'am," he greeted, trying to be as polite as possible. The woman raised her brown eyes to him and smiled.

"What can I do for you, kid?"

"I have an interview to get into the academy."

She frowned. "You look a bit too young for that. Show me your I.D."

Puck had expected that so he quietly pulled out his document and showed it to her. "The department sent me here, said you could make an exception."

The woman nodded handing back Puck's I.D. "There are some exceptions but you're still young. Are you sure you really want to do this?"

Puck stopped himself from saying that he didn't really have any other option and instead nodded and asked for the interview room. The officer pointed to a hallway to the right and told him to stop at the third door. Puck nodded his thanks and then followed her directions.

He knocked once when he reached the door and waited until he heard a gruff voice saying, "Come in."

Inside the room, sat behind a big white desk, there was a man with short black hair and big moustaches on his face. He looked about forty and it reminded Puck of his grandpa. The man looked up when the door opened, old blue eyes scanning Puck from head to toe before he told him to take a seat.

Without hesitating because Puck knew all too well that this was his only chance, he crossed the room, sat down and pushed the papers Mrs. Weitzman had given him toward the man.

"I'm Sergeant Marcus," the man said distractedly while he collected the papers and started reading through them.

"Noah Puckerman, sir."

Sergeant Marcus nodded and then raised his head pushing aside the papers. "Why do you want to become a policeman?"

And Puck had studied the answer to that, knew that he couldn't improvise and that what Mrs. Weitzman had suggested he said was the best chance he had. "I made some mistakes in my past and I believe that by becoming a policeman I could improve, become a better person. I want to become a better person," he said, emphasis evident in his voice. "I think joining the academy could be the best thing to happen to me, it would help me grow up and become a man and I know I can make a difference."

The Sergeant narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms over his expanded belly. "Why is that?"

"Because of those mistakes I mentioned." Puck licked his lips and tried to calm down his nerves. "I know young delinquents."

"You know, if you were ever arrested you can't become a policeman." Sergeant Marcus glanced down at the documents Puck had brought to him and then looked back at Puck. "Yesterday I got a very long report from a probation officer about how you're the right man for us and how you really need this and that making an exception for you as the department requested, is the right thing to do." He leaned forward over the desk, his eyes studying every expression that crossed Puck's face trying to discover exactly how honest and determined the young man sitting in front of him was. "I believe that it's better to keep someone out of troubles, that if we can help then we have to."

"I really want this, Sir," Puck said. He closed his hands into fists and furrowed his brow in determination. "I need this," he added. "I screwed up more than I can say and Mrs. Weitzman believes this is my only chance at becoming someone and I believe her."

"We have lots of applications, Mr. Puckerman."

"I know."

Sergeant Marcus stared at him for a few more seconds and then nodded. "If you were to join our academy, you would have to study a lot, and do a lot of exercises and there are going to be exams and no one can say if four years from now you will actually be a cop or just someone who tried."

Puck nodded but didn't interrupt him.

"You will have to give more than everyone else because even though you have a good word from your probation officer and the department signaled you to us, you aren't a kid with a great past. You've got to show that you are no longer a delinquent and I'm not talking about just saying you aren't one."

"I'm ready," Puck said. He honestly believed that he wouldn't get another chance and this was his only shot at being someone different from his father. Maybe he wasn't going to be a rock star but dreams weren't really for him. He had been serious at saying that he saw himself in prison or death and he wanted to change that and he didn't need dreams to accomplish that. He took Mrs. Weitzman's words about this being his only chance of redemption and kept them close to his heart. It was become a cop or stay no one, he didn't know any better.

Sergeant Marcus nodded again, picking up a pen and scribbling something on the corner of his notepad before he extended his hand to Puck. "You will have an answer soon enough, kid."

"Thank you, sir."

* * *

><p>Summer had left town from two weeks before Puck got an answer, right when he had been sure that he had somehow got the interview wrong and that his future had gotten screwed up even before starting. He was mowing the lawn when the mailman arrived, waved at him before putting the mail in the letterbox and continuing down the street.<p>

When Puck retrieved the correspondence he almost didn't pay attention to anything determined to only bring it inside and then get back to what he was doing, but the first envelope, blue and white, caught his attention. He turned it over and saw the emblem of the Shawnee-Apollo Basic Police Academy and tore it open, the other letters falling to the ground.

His eyes moved quickly over the paper inside that told him he had impressed the interviewer officer and that they will be glad to accept him to take part to the first exam in two weeks. Puck wanted to shout and then pick up the phone and call Finn but he didn't have Finn's number anymore, had tried his best to cancel it from his memory as well, and it still felt small compared to what his best friend was doing. He ended up folding the letter and putting it in the back of his jeans before going back to finish his housework.

Later that night, he told the news to his mother and to his sister who jumped on him and hugged him and Puck told himself he was doing this for them too so they could be proud of him. He smiled honestly for the first time in months and finally put out of his head thoughts of his former friends and their amazing lives.


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: Kurt gets introduced (briefly) and the two original characters that are important are also here. Sorry for the wait but I got a new job and I've been super busy!** _

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><p>Puck sat down on the cold concrete of the sidewalk and bent his knees crossing his hands between them. His eyes darted to the boy sitting next to him. The guy looked thirteen and wore clothes twice his size and never looked anyone in the eyes. Puck took a cigarette from his jacket and lighted it up taking a few drags before deciding that it was time to break the silence.<p>

"So, what happened this time, Jimmy?"

The boy, Jimmy, scowled at his old shoes and his hands closed painfully around his boney knees. "I ran away."

"That I can see." Puck stared at his burning cigarette trying to find the best way to get the boy to open up. In the last two years Puck had seen Jimmy almost every night. He had tried helping by getting the social services to take him away from his family, but the boy always found a way to escape. "When I was your age…"

Jimmy rolled his brown eyes. "Please, that again?"

Puck pushed him playfully. "I'm serious. I was a punk."

"I don't believe you."

"Alright." Puck threw away his cigarette and reached in his jacket for his wallet. He flipped it open and took out the small picture he always carried with him. Showing it to Jimmy, he said, "Look, I've got a Mohawk. That means troubles."

Jimmy pulled the small picture out of Puck's hand, his eyes widening. "Is that your kid?"

"Maybe."

"C'mon."

"I will tell you if you go back to the institute." Puck reached for the picture and secured it back in its place, hidden behind his badge so his eyes wouldn't fall on it by mistake and everything hurt a little less. "I'm serious. You can't keep running away. Those guys are there to help you."

"Pff." Jimmy huffed and turned away, burrowing in his jacket and pulling his hat down lower on his ears. "They don't give a shit. You put me there for nothing."

"I put you there because your father is a drunken asshole. I'm trying to help you."

"Go help someone else." Jimmy rose to his feet, his hands balled into tight fists and his eyes set with determination. "I'm not going back," he spat out, as if every thing that was wrong in his life could change if he only ran far enough.

"What are you going to do, then?" Puck got up as well. He hated how much of himself he could see in the kid but it also reminded him why he got up so early in the morning, why he stayed up so late at night, why it was all worth it. He had started to try and get himself out of troubles, to try and become someone different, someone better, but now he did it so he could save someone and make a difference. "Look, I won't be around forever," he said and saw the words hit Jimmy. "I'm trying to help you. If you keep escaping sooner or later people will stop caring about what happens to you and you will turn into just another homeless kid who does bad things because he has no other choice." He sighed heavily and bent his knees a little so he could look Jimmy in the eyes. "I'm giving you a chance, again," he added with a smile. "Take it."

"You're leaving like everyone else."

"You've got my number kiddo." Puck took off Jimmy's cap and ruffled his hair. "Promise me you will go back to the institute and stop running away."

Jimmy giggled slapping Puck's hands away. "Stop it and give me my cap back!"

"Promise."

"Okay, okay, I promise."

"Good." Puck put the cap back on Jimmy's head and squashed it a bit making the boy laugh again. He was sorry that he wasn't going to see Jimmy again but he couldn't find in himself to really be sorry for leaving. He had dreamed of big cities and bigger dreams like everyone else when he was a teenager and now, even if in a way he had never imagined before, he was going to leave Lima, finally. "Go now. It's late." He turned around to walk back to the car where Agent Nolan was waiting for him but Jimmy called his name stopping him.

"Puck?"

He turned around, already a few feet away from the kid. "What is it?"

"Will I ever see you again?"

"I don't know," Puck answered honestly.

"You still have to tell me about your kid."

Puck laughed shaking his head. "Go back now."

"Goodbye Puck."

* * *

><p>They weren't supposed to be drinking on duty, but the Captain was determined to make an exception. "When Puckerman got assigned here I thought he was going to be the worst cop ever since we all knew him already." The paunchy man gave a loud chuckle that was echoed by the oldest policemen. "But it turns out we were all wrong. Puckerman has been great in this last eight years. He rescued lost causes from the streets. Got promoted and now is leaving us for a bigger city." He became serious all of a sudden. "Don't get killed kid," he said, and waited for Puck's firm nod before laughing and inviting everyone to start eating.<p>

Puck took a sip of his champagne and went in search of a plate for the cake. He was stopped on the way by his colleagues who wanted to congratulate him. It made him feel pride that so many people were genuinely happy to see him go. He still felt a hole inside him sometimes where the friendship with Finn used to be, where holding Beth used to be. In the last nine years he hadn't seen or heard from anyone and there were times when he wondered if they still remembered him, if they ever asked themselves, "Whatever happened to Puck?"

Pushing those thoughts asides it still made him unhappy that the first person he had wanted to phone when he got the transfer had been Finn. It also made him unhappy that ever since leaving high school he had pretty much only ever hang out with his colleagues.

"Hey Champ," a familiar voice said from behind him.

He turned around to find Margaret, one of the secretaries. "Leaving us for the bright lights, are you?"

"I will never forget you babe, don't worry."

She laughed, the wrinkles around her mouth getting more pronounced for a moment. "We won't forget you either. Believe me when I say that I had never seen anyone else getting so many kids to stop being delinquents."

Puck shrugged. He always felt that while it was great that he was actually helping someone, it wasn't a big deal because he had simply told those guys what he head wanted to hear when he was his age. He felt like it wasn't something worth being mentioned since it just came from his past experience and not some sort of talent. "I just did my job."

"Sure." Margaret patted him on the shoulder and then smiled at him all soft and sorry as if she was torn between being happy for him and being sad to see him go. It still didn't make much sense for Puck that people actually cared about him. "I hope you will come back to visit us sooner or later."

"My mom and sister are still here, I can't disappear."

"Luckily," she said and patted him again before turning around to mingle with the others.

Puck sighed and looked down at his plate. For the first time he wondered if he had made a bad decision, if he was going to disappoint all these people. He started singing in his head then, to push away those thoughts and cheer himself up.

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><p>New York was freezing by the time he made it there. Taking a bus all the way from Lima hadn't been his brightest idea but Puck needed to save money. The apartment he had found was clean and comfortable and sharing it with two of his new colleagues made it a lot easier to afford. His room was the smallest because even though he was now twenty-eight, he still had just a few things. His old guitar was leaning against the wall in the corner and on the desk he had thrown his books and his computer. His Cds were in the wardrobe catalogued for genre because they were still what he cared about the most.<p>

On the only mantle in the room he put a picture of himself holding Beth, still the one from Senior year, but a moment later he took it down because it still hurt, and put one of him and his sister, one of his mother and his portrait from the Academy.

One of the other rooms was occupied by Neil, a bit older than Puck and a lot more cheerful, and the other one by Macy who was funny and smart and reminded Puck of Rachel in a lot of ways.

Becoming friends with Neil and Macy was simple. They were the loud ones and he was the one who reminded everyone about the bills to pay and, as absurd as it sounded, the one that made that strange friendship work. Sometimes Puck looked at himself in the mirror and couldn't recognize the guy from high school and it was okay, it was more than okay. Despite sometimes missing his old friends, he liked who he had become.

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><p>"How come that you never bring a girl here?" Neil asked while chewing his cereals, two months after starting to live together.<p>

Macy snorted. "Please, he's embarrassed of us, you should know that by now."

"There's no girl that's why," Puck answered, completely ignoring Macy.

"C'mon, Puck, man. I'm serious." Neil got up from the table and walked inside the kitchen to put down his now empty mug. "There must be someone. We promise not to embarrass you if you let us meet her."

"There's no girl," Puck said again. He closed the newspaper and finished his mug of coffee before getting up. "Are you ready? We're late."

Neil came out of the kitchen and sighed in that exasperated way that reminded Puck of his mother. "What about a boy you're hiding away?"

Macy laughed. "That's Neil for you. Everyone's secretly gay."

Puck laughed despite trying not to. "We really need to leave."

"He's not denying it," Neil joked picking up his cap and checking that he wasn't forgetting anything. "Were you always this boring? Because from your file you looked a lot more interesting."

"Do I need to go rob a bank to keep you happy?" Puck asked sarcastically while they walked down the stairs of their condo.

"Not necessary but staying out a night or two would be okay."

"Don't worry, I get plenty of action."

Neil arched an eyebrow at Puck and opened his mouth to ask for details when Puck pushed him and laughed. "Shut up."

"So you're getting action?"

"Shut up!"

Neil laughed and started calling Puck lover boy just as they walked out on the street. Puck was about to tell him to stop when someone collided into him. He turned around still laughing and then lost his voice.

A guy was standing in front of him, pale skin and dark hair and green-blue eyes that he had secretly admired when he was still just a teen. He was sure that even though everything else about Kurt Hummel was to change, his eyes would have always been how Puck would recognize him anywhere. But Kurt wasn't that different. The hair was longer and he was taller but he was still Kurt and it made Puck stop.

"I'm so sorry," Kurt said. "I was checking my phone and didn't see you, officer."

Now Puck knew that he looked different when he was wearing his uniform but he was pretty sure that considering for how long they had known each other, Kurt should have still recognized him. However there was no trace of recognition in his eyes.

Kurt swiped a few bangs back from his forehead and his lips started to curve up in the beginning of a smile but then they stopped. "Are you okay, officer?"

Puck straightened up as if coming back to life and took a step back. "Sure."

Kurt squinted his eyes and took a step forward. "I'm sorry, do I know you?"

Puck could feel Neil's eyes on him, knew that he would have to answer to an endless list of questions from his friend, but ignored it and shook his head scowling his face in a mask of indifference. "No, you don't." And somehow that was true because Puck wasn't the same person Kurt used to know but it still stung in a strange way having to say those words. He had pictured enough times in his head how meeting his former friends would be like but this was nothing like he had imagined.

He turned around then to walk away but was stopped by Kurt's voice. "Have a nice day, officer."

Puck glanced at him from over his shoulder and simply said, "You too," before grabbing Neil's arm to drag him towards the Police Station. Puck counted to twenty before Neil started his questioning.

"You knew that guy. It was written all over your face."

"No, I really don't."

"Puck."

"Neil."

They crossed the street in silence the scene of a few minutes earlier replaying in Puck's mind. He was so distracted that he almost ran into a lamppost.

"This is proof enough that you knew him." Neil paused and took a breath and when he next spoke, he tried to sound as indifferent as possible. "So, who was him?"

Keep lying wouldn't solve anything so Puck shrugged and didn't meet Neil's blue eyes. "Just someone from high school."

"You two weren't friends?"

"We were," the automatic answer was out before Puck could stop it. "It's a long story but we were good friends. Doesn't really matter now."

"Hey, it's been what? Almost ten years since you two last saw each other?" Puck nodded and Neil went on. "If I met any of my high schoolmates now, I wouldn't recognize them, not even one of them. People move on it's normal. Do you actually remember the face of everyone?"

Puck frowned. It felt like trying to reach a memory further away than just nine years. The faces he came up with were a bit faded. He could remember Santana's because they had been sort of together and he could remember Quinn's and Rachel's and Finn's but the other's were just faded memories. He remembered things about them, like Mike's dancing and Artie's rapping, but nothing past that. Of course Mercedes' face was on TV and her songs on the radio so he remembered her and apparently Kurt's face was pretty engraved in his memory too, but he couldn't even really remember Mr. Schue's face.

"See?" said Neil, bringing Puck out of his musing. "No big deal."

Puck nodded because they had reached the Station and he had no intention of keeping discussing the matter, but he still felt as if he had been punched and he hated it.


End file.
